4. Chapter Four
Chapter Four
Kya
A s soon as the sun set, I left Morah under the cover of darkness and headed to the residential ring of Ilrek.
My hood cloaked my face as I passed the few remaining fae still wandering the streets.
The Roav—the Hunters of Morah —had a reputation for being formidable and ruthless.
To stave off the wary looks, it was best that I kept hidden when possible.
Not that I minded. I preferred the shadows.
The streets were illuminated in a soft glow from the lanterns sparsely lining the edges of the streets. Fire wielders kept them lit throughout the night.
I made my way to the door of one of the small cottages and walked up the steps. Excitement coursed through me, knowing what awaited on the other side. Releasing a shuddering breath, I pushed back my hood just enough for my face to be seen, then lightly tapped on the door in a specific pattern.
Tap, tap, tap. Tap tap.
It took only moments before the locks unlatched, and it was thrown open.
Cade stood before me. And Gods, was he a sight to behold.
Shirtless, the rippling muscles of his chest and abdomen contracted with each breath, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
His cropped dirty blond hair, showcasing his pointed ears, was the same as always—a cut favored by the fire wielders as longer hair tended to catch from the flames.
And how I’d missed the heat in his amber-colored eyes as they slowly traveled up the length of my body until finally meeting mine.
A warm feeling pooled in my lower stomach.
“About fucking time.” His voice was low and guttural.
His nostrils flared slightly, scenting my arousal.
A broad grin crossed his sultry lips as he stepped to the side and gestured for me to come in.
He closed the door behind me before he grabbed my waist, pushed me against it, and took my mouth with his.
A groan rumbled in his chest when I returned his kiss and placed my hands on his shoulders.
He yanked the hood from my head and pushed his body against mine.
His eyebrows scrunched together when I suddenly pushed him off me.
I gave a playful smile and winked before darting around him.
Mismatched furniture cluttered the small living space as I hurriedly made my way to the bedroom down the narrow hallway at the back of the residence, Cade right on my heels with eager steps. The playful chase excited me further.
We made our way into his small, cozy room, and I headed straight toward the bed we had shared many times before.
Barely having crossed the threshold into the room, he grabbed my wrist and twisted me to face him.
His other hand came to the back of my head and grabbed a handful of hair at the base, tilting my face up.
His warm, soft lips were on mine instantly, voracious and desperate.
I quietly moaned as he dug his fingers into my waist, resting my arms around his shoulders as my hands fisted his hair and pulled my body in to meet his—the already hardened length of him pressing against my stomach.
The kiss was rough and hurried, desperate—like we had been starved. His tongue thrust and tangled with mine in a skillful way that electrified all the way down between my legs .
He removed my shirt, our lips parting only briefly, before pushing me backward until the backs of my knees hit the edge of the bed.
My hands ran across his broad shoulders and down the sculpted muscles of his torso until they met the lining of his loose-fitting pants and untied them.
I bit my lip, glancing up at him as his darkened eyes watched my hands and moisture pooled between my thighs.
The tips of my fingers moved to the band of his pants but stopped when he pushed me back onto the bed. He made quick work of my pants, my slippers already discarded on the floor beneath me. He groaned at the sight of me lying before him in nothing but my lacy undergarments.
“Did you wear this just for me?” Cade asked in a low, husky voice as his fingers traced the lace at my hips, his eyes growing hungry. Goosebumps pebbled across my sensitive skin, and I gasped at his touch, wanting more.
I nodded, and a whimper escaped my lips when his fingers trailed further down, my heart racing in anticipation. I knew what lace did for him, and I got the reaction I’d hoped for. His eyes fluttered closed momentarily before they shot up to meet mine.
Cade was instantly on top of me and his mouth on mine as he quickly removed his pants.
One of his large hands grasped my breast, kneading the soft flesh with his fingers—the other wound around the lace on my hip.
I silently thanked the Gods as he ripped the undergarments down to my ankles.
I kicked them off somewhere across the room.
My hands were all over his body. I wanted to touch him all at once, but it still wasn’t enough. I felt his back flex under my fingertips as he moved to position himself.
My thighs parted, and he settled himself between them just before he placed the tip of his finger at my entrance, circling there. My back arched at his touch. His mouth spread into a rueful smirk. He knew what he did to me, how his touch affected me. And he was damn good at it.
His finger slowly entered my already slick core, his thumb pressing down on the bud of nerves I was so desperate for him to touch. My body jerked and writhed as he circled slowly with his thumb, and his finger pulled in and out of me several times before adding another.
“Oh…Gods,” I breathed. My pleasure was building and already threatening to crash over me. I began to shamelessly press into his hand, desperate for more.
He hummed a pleased chuckle at my desire for him.
“The Gods aren’t the names I want coming from your lips tonight. Only mine.” He whispered, his lips brushing my ear.
He pulled back, removing his fingers—but thankfully not his thumb—and I groaned in protest at the loss.
His other hand aligned the tip of his cock with my core, lubricating himself with my arousal.
His dark eyes gazed down at my face the entire time.
He was taking his time. Teasing me. Knowing exactly what drives me wild.
As much as I appreciated his playfulness, I was getting impatient. Drunk with pleasure, I wrapped my legs around his waist and slammed him into me, overcome with the need to be filled. His pleasured grunt was met with a moan of my own.
Cade paused, allowing me to adjust to his size—not that I wasn’t used to it, but it had been a while—before pushing himself in fully.
I released a breathy moan at the fullness of him, and his thumb resumed circling the bud at the apex of my thighs. My hands flew up to his back, and I dug my nails in as he began pushing in and out of me, his thumb circling faster in time with his thrusts.
Cade’s free hand grabbed my hip as his movements became more brutal, and the tension was building inside me even faster. My eyes rolled to the back of my head as I arched farther off the bed—my pleasure near the point of no return.
Stars filled my vision, and intoxication flooded my veins as my core pulsed, squeezing around him. Cade’s climax followed immediately, and I could feel him spilling into me. We carefully rode each other through our euphoria.
I didn’t have to worry about getting pregnant with him. Since he was an initiated citizen, he had sacrificed his ability to bear children. Not to mention, I still took yearly tonics to prevent it anyway.
Sated and covered in sweat, Cade removed his thumb, gently pulling out of me. He got off the bed, briefly leaving the room before returning with a damp cloth and cleaning himself. All I could do was lay there as my body recovered from the overwhelming sensation.
Cade pulled his pants back on and retrieved his discarded clothes before returning to sit on the bed.
“I missed you,” he said with a smile that would make females grovel.
“Only for that, though, right?” I pressed.
He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Yeah. Only for that.”
“Good,” I stated firmly. I cleaned myself off as well, and got dressed.
Cade and I had come to the mutual understanding that our relationship was strictly physical. We’d tried to pursue an actual relationship once before, but it didn’t work out. We weren’t compatible and didn’t want the same things. Not emotionally anyway.
Being in a romantic relationship wasn’t easy when I sporadically had to leave for unknown periods of time on jobs. It didn’t help that he had no idea what I did or where I went. What I was capable of.
He wanted to know everything when I couldn’t tell him anything, which strained the emotional state of things.
So, we decided to stick to just the physical aspect.
Using each other as an outlet for sexual release.
As awkward as it was at the time, we sat down and discussed rules and conditions.
No staying over, no cuddling, and we would stop when one of us wanted to stop.
That was a little over two years ago, and it worked well for us both—for the most part, with the exception of his occasional request to further our relationship again, more so recently.
He was a good male, but I had never felt anything for him.
Not to mention, I had the constant reminder of my impending fate embedded in my skin.
I glanced down at my mark—the only thing he really knew about me, seeing as it wasn’t something I could hide from him.
“So…where did you go this time? Must have been far for how long you were gone.” He said in an attempt to extract information from me as he had many times over the years.
“Cade,” I said in warning. “I won’t give you the details. You know that. It’s better this way.”